Charlotte McCormack of National Grid says the extension will help customers who are facing hard times due to the poor economy.

“It’s helpful where there’s a financial hardship, helpful where there’s a financial hardship and a child under one year of age, a household under financial hardship that would be without heat if a utility service were to shut off their utilities, and households with a financial hardship in which all adults are 65 years of age or older and a child lives in that home,” McCormack said.